New Zealand Crush UAE by 10 Wickets in T20 World Cup, Seifert & Allen Unstoppable
New Zealand won very easily by 10 wickets, with 28 balls still left. The Kiwi openers, Tim Seifert and Finn Allen, completely dominated the chase. UAE bowlers struggled badly and couldn’t take wickets. New Zealand now have two wins out of two matches at Chepauk. UAE are still without a win and have many problems to think about.
UAE won the toss and elected to bat first on a true and bouncy Chepauk surface. Both openers came out aggressively and charged at the new ball bowlers. However, Aryansh Sharma couldn't control a quick short one from Duffy and was dismissed early with the score 12/1. Alishan Sharafu joined Captain Muhammad Waseem. Both became a force to reckon with as they made the Kiwi bowling look clueless. Especially the quick bowlers who just did not scare the batting pair.
They added 107 runs for the second wicket in just 77 balls. Sharafu brought up his fifty and Waseem too followed the number 3 and got to the milestone. It was Waseem's 29th fifty in T20Is. Finally, it was Mitch Santner who came back into the attack to break the partnership and get rid of Sharafu for 55. New Zealand struck back-to-back as Glenn Phillips took our Harshit Kaushik in the very next over. In that phase, New Zealand just gave 10 runs in 18 balls taking 2 wickets. All that pressure was killed by UAE in the 18th over when Mayank Kumar and Waseem took down Glenn Phillips for 27 runs.
New Zealand Openers Dominate as Kiwis Cruise to 10-Wicket Win Over UAE
They crossed 150. With some late punches from both sides in the final two overs, UAE pushed their score to 173/6 in 20 overs. This was their highest score in T20 World Cups. Waseem ended with 66*. The pick of the bowlers for the New Zealand side were, Mitch Santner (1-23) and Matt Henry (2-37).
It looked like a par total. However, with the experience of New Zealand on the other side, the UAE bowlers had to be at their best to defend it. To start with they were nowhere near their best. The chase started on the perfect note for New Zealand. Openers, Tim Seifert and Finn Allen nailed the powerplay by notching up 78 in the first 6. Both batters took down the quicker bowlers and smoked them left right and center with overs of 20 and 22 runs coming in that.
The onslaught just continued and there was no respite if you were from the UAE. Both batters got to their respective fifties in quick time and the 100 runs stand was also brought up. UAE had no clue what to bowl after one point just gave in to the drumming they were receiving. Finn Allen finished with 84(50)* to his name. Tim Seifert brought up 89(42)* for himself.
The pair created a record T20 World Cup partnership and won with 28 balls to spare. There was nothing pleasant in the UAE bowling card to show for as everyone was sent to the fence. New Zealand have made a 'statement start' to their World Cup campaign and teams must fear the openers they possess.
